Independent Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders placed the stakes of the health care debate in stark terms when he said that under Donald Trump‘s “plan” (which does not actually exist), “thousands of people will literally die.”

On Sunday morning’s edition of CBS News’ Face the Nation, host Margaret Brennan asked Sanders about the Trump administration’s attempt to strike down the entirety of Obamacare, without a plan to replace it.

“The president this week said he wants the courts to strike down Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, but to be fair, Senator, you want to replace Obamacare, too,” Brennan said, which is a bit like saying “to be fair, you and Hannibal Lecter both enjoy a good meal.”

“You want to replace it with Medicare For All, government-run, government-financed program,” Brennan said (Trump has no plan to replace it).

“If the courts strike down the ACA, does that ultimately help you?” she asked.

“No, no,” Sanders said, with a derisive laugh. “Yes, Trump has an idea on health care, his idea is to throw 32 million millions off of the health insurance they have, doing away with insurance for kids who are 26 years of age or younger who are on their parents plans, doing away with the protections that the ACA has for preexisting conditions, Margaret.

“That means if you have cancer, you have heart disease, you have diabetes, if Trump gets his way, the cost of health insurance for you will be so high that many people literally will not be able to afford it,” Sanders said, adding “Thousands of people will literally die. That’s trump’s health insurance plan.”

The senator has made similar claims about Republican repeal efforts, backed up by a 2009 study that shows 45,000 annual American deaths linked to a lack of health coverage.

Sanders then explained his Medicare For All plan, which would do away with private insurance in favor of a single payer, government-run health care program. Sanders has previously said that he will not support health care reforms other than his own plan.

Watch the clip above, via CBS News.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/2OC14cd